National Archives at St. Louis

Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Holdings

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OMPF, Archival Holdings

Branch of Service Official Military Personnel Files, Archival Holdings
Army
(includes Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces)
Enlisted      discharge dates 1912 to 1961*
Officers     discharge dates 1917 to 1961*
Navy Enlisted     discharge dates 1885 to 1961*
Officers    discharge dates 1902 to 1961*
Air Force All Personnel with discharge dates 1947 to 1961*
Marine Corps All Personnel with discharge dates 1905 to 1961*
Coast Guard All Personnel with discharge dates 1898 to 1961*
Please order these records by using the process outlined in, "How to Access Archival Records, Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF)".

* Records are accessioned into the National Archives, and become archival, 62 years after the service member's separation from the military. This is a rolling date; hence, the current year, 2023, minus 62 years is 1961. Records with a discharge date of 1961 or prior are archival and are open to the public. Records with a discharge date of 1962 or after are non-archival and are maintained under the Federal Records Center program. Non-archival records are subject to access restrictions. Click Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Federal (non-archival) Holdings to access these records.


Please Note: On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The records affected:

Branch Personnel and Period Affected Estimated Loss
Army Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960 80%
Air Force Personnel discharged September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964
(with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.)
75%

See 1973 Fire for more information on the records affected and the alternate sources used to reconstruct basic service information.


Older military personnel records, generally prior to WWI depending on the service branch (see Records Location Table), are on file at the National Archives and Records Administration, Old Military and Civil Records Branch (NWCTB), Washington, DC 20408. See Requesting Copies of Older Military Service Records for more information.

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